


Hold On

by klarkgriffin



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Female Homosexuality, Fluff and Angst, Heterosexual Sex, Heterosexuality, Non-Graphic Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 09:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13187115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klarkgriffin/pseuds/klarkgriffin
Summary: Instead of Fred Andrews getting shot in Pop's diner, what happens if Archie Andrews takes the bullet instead?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be entirely in Betty's point of view. I may have some points where it is Archie's point of view but i haven't really decided that yet. I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 1:  
Betty's point of view:  
I sat next to my mother, her hand clasping mine tightly. I couldn't stop myself from shaking and from the tears to stop falling down my pale cheeks. After what happened with Cheryl, i hadn't been able to get my emotions in check. Cheryl was thankfully okay but Archie was nowhere to be found. "Have you by any chance seen Archie? I just wanna check up, see how his hand is doing." I addressed my mother. "I haven't see him but i overheard Jughead say that he was going to Pop's to meet up with his dad." I shot her a grateful smile and stood up but her hand around my wrist stopped me. "Be careful." She warned softly before rising to her feet and pressing a kiss to my forehead. I grabbed my jacket and car keys and prepared for my drive to the diner. My hands wouldn't stop shaking and i almost swerved off the road 3 times but luckily i got to the cozy quaint diner unharmed. I quickly got out of the car and went to go inside but something stopped me. Through the glass, i saw a man in a black ski mask choking out Pop, the man who owned the sanctuary for me and my three best friends. Then i saw Fred, Archie's dad, step towards the mystery guy and raise his hands as if he was daring him to fire the gun. I finally saw Archie jump in front of his dad before the bullet hit him in the side. My eyes widened in shock as Archie fell to the floor, blood quickly pooling around his crumpled body. I finally got my muscles to work again and i yanked open the door, rushing to Fred's side in an instant. I grabbed Archie's face between my hands and angled his head so his eyes were locked with mine. "Come on Arch, stay with me." I begged over and over again as Fred pressed his hands against the wound in Archie's side. I laid his head carefully back onto the cold floor and assisted Fred in stopping Archie from losing anymore blood. "Fred, find something more absorbent to press against his side, our hands aren't helping too much." Fred looked at me, a million different emotions crossing his tired face at once. "I'll stay with him, i promise." I reassured, my voice cracking towards the end. Fred ran towards the back of the restaurant in search of something to save his son's life and i stayed with Archie, moving his head onto my lap to make it more comfortable for him. His hand was grasping mine so tightly i thought the bones in my hand would snap but i didn't say anything. I just brushed his hair away from his face and held his hand. Blood covered my hands, clothes, and was smudged on my face but i didn't care. My only priority was helping Archie and making sure he was gonna be alright. Fred came out of the kitchen with multiple towels and handed them to me. I pressed them against his side and Fred watched me carefully. "Call 911, these towels won't last much longer." I instructed Fred as i watched Archie's eyes flutter rapidly. "Now." I said in a firmer tone. Fred did as i asked and quickly dialed the police. I watched Archie with tears in my eyes. He couldn't die, he was far too important to me for him to just check out this way. "Archie, it's Betty. You have to fight through this okay? You have so many people who love and care about you here and we wouldn't be able to deal with losing you at a time like this. Please hold on, just a little longer." I whispered softly. "B-B-Betty." He stuttered out, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. I let out a cry of relief as i squeezed his hand tighter and wiped the blood away from his mouth. "I-I-I d-don't w-want t-t-to d-d-die." He forced out, choking on his blood. "You won't, I swear to god." I promised him as sincerely as possible. Sirens filled my ears and soon, Pop's diner was surrounded by cops and paramedics. Two cops busted into the diner and approached me, asking me questions about what happened. I could barely speak as the paramedics came and loaded Archie onto a stretcher. The cops concluded that i was too traumatized to answer any questions and so they helped me to my feet and led me out of the diner and into the cold air. Fred was standing by the ambulance speaking to the older looking paramedic but when he saw me exit the diner, he rushed over to me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Betty!" I heard my mother shout as she ran to my side. "Are you hurt??" She asked frantically, taking notice of my blood stained skin and clothing. I simply shook my head in response and she wrapped her arms around me, her arms shaking severely as they remained wrapped around me. "Betty, do you want to ride in the ambulance with Archie or would you like to ride with your mom?" My shoulders shook as I disentangled myself from my mom's embrace and slowly walked to the ambulance. Fred helped me into the back and i grabbed Archie's cold hand as soon as i sat down. The ambulance started up and the sirens began to whir and as we pulled away from Pop's diner, a place that once held so many memories, now tainted by the events of this afternoon, one question ran through my head over and over again: was Archie going to make it?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has a little bit of beronica in it because i know how many people ship them(i personally don't but my own fanfic is starting to make me ship them lmaooo) i hope you all like this though :)

Chapter 2:  
Betty's point of view:

The ride to the hospital was agonizing. Archie drifted in and out of consciousness and my hand gripped his tightly every few minutes to prove that he was still somewhat responsive to my attempts to keep him awake. I felt Fred's gaze on me and my shaking hands and i just continued looking at Archie's face, a face that i had become so familiar with i would be able to identify it in my sleep. "Betty, he'll get through this. He's a strong kid." i heard fred say in reassurance. "Yeah, he is." I responded, fresh tears running down my face.  I didn't want to doubt what Fred was saying about my Arch but i couldn't help it. The bullet had hit him in a bad place and i so desperately wished the gun would have jammed. As crazy as it was, i couldn't help but blame myself for what had happened, which brought another wave of pain throughout my body. I rested my head against the wall of the ambulance, never taking my eyes off of him. The paramedics were talking to me but my heartbeat was pounding in my ears so i couldn't register what they were saying, and that gave me a sense of gratefulness. The ride to the hospital was over in a matter of what seemed like seconds and they rushed out of the back to wheel him into the emergency part of the hospital. I trailed behind them aimlessly, the lights nearly blinding me. I felt Fred's presence at my side and i gave him a small smile as he rushed past me to be with his son. Since I wasn't family, i had to report to the waiting room, alone. Not a familiar face occupied any of the chairs and that disappointed me greatly. Nonetheless, i took a seat, close enough to where i could run to Archie if he needed me. My hands laid in my lap, the blood stains causing the memories of that painful event to replay in my head in a disgusting cycle. "Betty!" I heard my moms voice shout. I looked up and saw my exhausted mother, trailed by a terrified looking Veronica and a heartbroken Jughead. My mom embraced me and kissed my head multiple times while Veronica and Jughead stood by, waiting for their turns to comfort me. As soon as my mom released me, Veronica wrapped her arms around me, her tears staining my neck. "Thank God you're okay." She whispered in relief, her words comforting me like they always did. Jughead hugged me tightly, holding on to me as if he would crumble right here in the hospital lobby if he didn't. When the time for words was over, we all sat together, Veronica clasping one of my hands and my mom clasping the other. "He's going to be okay, B." Veronica said softly, placing her head in the crook of my shoulder. I closed my eyes and sighed, concentrating on Veronica's presence beside me. 10 minutes had passed and the only thing to happen in that time span was Veronica's parents and my sister Polly and best friend Kevin joining us. I wanted to scrub any reminders away so Veronica led me to the bathroom, wiping all the blood from my skin with a wet paper towel. I stood motionless as the blood stains disappeared from my fair skin until nothing remained but my memories. "V, I'm so scared. I feel like this is my fault." I said with a sob, leaning against the marble sink. Veronica wrapped her arms around me, not saying a word. I cried into her shoulder, letting out all the pent up emotions that i had been so desperately hiding for the past 2 hours. "B, this is not your fault. Archie is a strong person, he'll make it through this okay? I promise." I didn't believe anything she was saying except that Archie was strong but i nodded numbly, hoping that it would be convincing enough for her. She held my hand as we walked back to where the group of people worrying about Archie were seated and this time my head went on her shoulder, her chin on top of my head. I eventually drifted off to sleep, flashes of the man's face flitting across my closed eyelids. I woke with a start, surprised to see that everyone was still there, anxiously waiting. Veronica had also drifted off to sleep but she woke up when she noticed that my head was no longer on her shoulder. "You okay, B?" She asked, placing her hand on my arm. I nodded weakly and she looked at me a few moments before standing up, gesturing for her parents to follow. My mom slid into the seat Veronica had been occupying and smiled softly, holding my hand in hers. "Betty sweetheart Archie's going to be fine. We should probably go home though and try to get a good nights sleep and clean ourselves up a bit. Your friends can stay too if that would give you a bit more peace of mind." I didn't even want to step foot out of the waiting area but i knew she was right. I was in desperate need of a shower and some rest, although i doubted that would even happen. "You're right, i do need to clean myself up and attempt to get some sleep. Let me go get Veronica really quickly and we'll meet you outside." She rose to her feet, Jughead and Kevin mirroring her actions and they all walked out of the automatic doors and into the starless and dark night. I followed Hermione's voice and found the trio rather quickly. I lingered awkwardly a bit away from them and waited for them to finish their conversation. Veronica said something harshly to them before turning to me with a small smile. "Whatcha need?" She asked softly, her face reflecting pain. "My mom said we're going to go home and she said that you could come along, if you want to though." A look of relief passed across her face and she linked her arm through mine. "Of course i would come too. You need as much support as possible right now." Without a look back in her parents direction, we walked slowly towards the exit. I looked back longingly as we got outside and Veronica tugged on my arm to lead me towards the awaiting car. As we drove off, i pressed my hand against the chilly windowpane, leaving a piece of myself there so Archie would wake up not so alone.  
The house was silent when we walked in, my dad nowhere to be found. Disappointment washed over me but i shoved it down, climbing the staircase to my room. Veronica trailed behind me, shutting the door after she entered the small but cozy atmosphere that was my bedroom. I took off my coat and threw it across the room, not caring where it ended up as i fell onto my bed in exhaustion. She sat on the edge of the bed, carefully watching me as i moved into a sitting position, drawing my knees up to my chest. "I don't want him to wake up scared V. If he does wake up... when he wakes up, i want to be there. This is torture." I said quietly, my voice cracking on the last word. She put her hand on my knee and squeezed tightly, saying everything she was too exhausted to say about the situation. We sat in silence until Veronica yawned loudly, stretching like a cat. "Can you sleep in my bed tonight? I'd feel better if i felt you here with me." I asked, looking at her expectantly. She nodded and i smiled softly, standing up to find something to sleep in. I handed her a black t-shirt and shorts while i peeled the blood stained clothes away from my body and simply dressed in a long white t-shirt that ended at the tops of my thighs. I shut the light off and climbed under the baby pink comforter, facing Veronica. She looked upset but i decided not to press the matter. Instead i held her hand and closed my eyes, moving closer to her. Her soft breathing filled the room within minutes but my mind was running too rapid to shut down. I cursed myself as i fought to sink into sleep. Eventually, as the first rays of the sun begin making their way into my room, i finally succumbed to the dark abyss of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a bit longer than the last but i hope it's okay regardless :) please comment your feedback, thank you so much!


	3. Chapter 3

I was awake at 6:30 the next morning. Veronica had somehow entangled her legs with mine through the night but I didn’t mind it, the gesture was quite comforting if I was being honest. I moved carefully so I didn’t wake her and when I was successfully out of my bed, I quietly slipped into a black pleated skirt and fuzzy baby blue sweater, I crept down the stairs and into the kitchen, where i found my mom sitting at the table, a coffee cup trapped between her shaky hands.

“Good morning Elizabeth.” She said in a monotone voice, not bothering to look up at me. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly so she would know that I was there for her. She didn’t move an inch, she just stared straight ahead. 

“Maybe if I was there sooner, Archie would be fine and you wouldn’t be emotionally traumatized. If only I got to you kids quicker.” A sob broke from her throat and I kneeled next to her and shook my head. 

“Mom what happened was not your fault. This couldn’t have been prevented by anyone, someone would have ended up hurt or worse at the end of this. He’s going to be fine mom, I’m going to be fine so please don’t worry about what you did or didn’t do because all we need to focus on now is Arch and his recovery okay? There’s no room for regrets and missed chances right now.” I gave her a small smile and she returned it, wiping at her eyes before standing up and pressing a kiss to my forehead, mumbling something that I couldn’t quite catch before returning to her room and shutting the door. I occupied the seat she had been in before and laid my head down on the smooth mahogany. 

“B? You down there?” I heard Veronica’s voice trail down from the top of the stairs and I took a deep breath before rising to my feet and walking towards the stairs, smiling up at her from the bottom. Her face lightened up instantly and she skipped down the stairs and threw her arms around me, burying her face in my neck and sighing blissfully. I stumbled back in surprise but hugged her back nonetheless, allowing myself that one fleeting moment before jumping back into reality. In another universe, Veronica would most definitely be mine. We would do cringey things we found to be romantic and cuddle while watching sappy movies and be each others rocks and support systems. She would hold my hand and kiss me softly and I would pretend that it was annoying when I really found it to be adorable and heart melting. But this was a universe I had created long ago and now there was no hope for that. Veronica was made for Jughead and I for Archie and it felt… right. 

“Any news on Arch yet?” She asked when she had pulled away. Her hope filled eyes almost made me burst into tears but I swallowed and shook my head instead. Her face fell and she dejectedly walked to the table and flopped into one of the chairs, placing her head in her hands and sighing loudly.

“B what the hell are we supposed to do? I can’t just sit here and wonder if i’m ever going to see him again. I still love and care for him so much and sitting here is driving me insane. We have to get to the hospital, I don’t care how the hell we do it but I’ll be damned if he wakes up and we’re not there for it.” She said between gritted teeth and hot tears racing down her tan cheeks. I stood in silence, watching her carefully, she hadn’t even noticed that she was crying and yet she was still ranting over what was bothering her and my heart clenched at the sight.

“Veronica it’s going to be okay. We’ll go to the hospital right now okay? Go wake the boys and Polly up and then we’ll go. Just trust me babe, we’ll get to him.” I went to my mother’s room and opened it and was shocked by what I saw. She was curled up on her side, crying her heart out into a balled up tissue. I didn’t want to disturb her so I quietly shut her door, stepping back into the kitchen, listening to the sounds of Veronica quietly waking up the other inhabitants of the house. Veronica came back into the kitchen and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, rubbing circles with her thumb. Polly came into the kitchen first, groggy but still smiling. She mumbled good morning to me and grabbed an apple off the counter, daintly nibbling on it as she sat down at the table, her eyes forlorn and faraway. She was probably reliving the fear that she had when Jason never met her, the disappointment she experienced when she knew he wasn’t going to show, and the heartbreak she wrestled with after finding out his demise. She was being so sympathetic towards the situation because she knew firsthand what it was like and she didn’t want that for me. A few moments later, Jughead and Kevin walked quietly into the kitchen, Jughead completely ignoring my presence as he brushed past me in his attempt to go outside. I swallowed down the pain that his actions caused and I cleared my throat and folded my hands in front of me. 

“So are you guys good to go right now? Because we can always wait.” I said quietly, observing the trio that looked at me through sleep hazed eyes and grim smiles. No one spoke so I took that as a sign that they were ready so I grabbed my coat and my mother’s keys and we filed out of the house, careful not to disturb my mother and her now quieted sobbing. Luckily, Polly was old enough and could drive the car so we all piled in one after the other with Jughead riding shotgun and myself being seated between Kevin and Veronica. The ride to the hospital was silent, the only sound filling the car was our breath and occasionally our anxious heartbeats but my mind wasn’t in the car, it was far away, to a place I never expected myself to go again. I curled my fingers into the palms of my hands to make myself remind me that I was alive and that pain was a constant reminder of that fact. When we pulled up to the hospital, everyone insisted that Veronica and I visit him first, because there would be a higher chance of him waking up sooner if he felt one of them in the room with him. 

“Don’t worry Betty, I’m with you. Now and forever.” She looped her arm through mine as we slowly walked through the automatic sliding hospital doors. Warmth spread up my arm as we walked to the reception desk to check in. The girl sitting behind the big oak desk was uninterested in her job, picking at her ruby red painted nails and crossing her ankles on the desk. When she saw us, she huffed and asked in a monotone voice who we were there for. She was very slow in retrieving the paperwork that we needed to fill out and I tapped my fingers against the surface of the desk impatiently.

“Yeah we don’t have all day to wait so can you perhaps be faster with what you’re doing?” I asked harshly as the anger I had been repressing bubbled to the surface. She glared at me and thrust the clipboard at me with a sickly sweet smile that made me want to knock her teeth down her throat. Veronica smiled at the girl before leading me to the seat closest to the doors, grabbing a pen from the box on the table beside us and filling out the paperwork quickly, standing so she could give it back to the bitch at the desk, who glanced in my direction more than once, hate burning in her emerald green eyes. 

“It’s going to be a bit before we can see him.” She said as she sat back down in the seat next to me, crossing her legs and placing her handbag on her propped up knee, the strap swaying over the top of her stiletto heel. I groaned under my breath and closed my eyes, my fingernails finding their way back into the skin of my palms. The ticking of the ancient clock was driving me mad so I excused myself to the restroom, where I went into the first stall and locked myself inside, breaking down. Hot tears raced down my cheeks and my throat was closing up, making it hard for me to breathe but that didn’t matter, all that mattered was stopping the white hot pain that rain through my veins and squeezed my heart with an iron fist. When my hands stopped shaking, I gathered the courage to find my wits and exited the stall, wiping my blotchy face with a paper towel and smoothing out my wrinkled skirt. I looked like complete and utter hell. Large dark bags shadowed my eyes and my skin was nearly translucent, almost as if you could see all the pain that I held inside of myself. My hair was disheveled and looked as dirty as I felt and I sighed before leaving the bathroom and joining Veronica in the waiting room, who immediately took notice of my blotchy skin and puffy eyes. She opened her mouth as if she were going to comment on it but I held up my hand, shaking my head. Her mouth closed and she looked disappointed but she still held my hand in hers, rubbing circles into my skin to ease my nerves. Minutes passed and still no word about when we were allowed to see him, which frustrated both of us to no end.

“Why can’t anyone in this hospital understand that we want to see someone that we care about? Are they really that incompetent?” I raised my voice just the slightest on the last part so Desk Bitch would know that she was grouped in with the incompetent staff. Veronica excused herself and she was gone for a long time which was my chance. I stood up and walked over to the service desk, throwing on my best and most fakest smile when I made eye contact with the girl. 

“Hey, I’m sorry that we started off on a rough patch but a person I really care a lot about was shot earlier this week and I just really want to see him, to let him know that I’m here for him when he wakes up just in case, by some chance, that he forgets that. I know it’s against protocol but I’m desperate and I don’t know what else to do.” Her face softened and she surprised me by placing her cold hand on top of mine and squeezing gently. She looked around to make sure that no one was watching and she pressed a scrap of paper into my palm, pulling back and giving me a smile before jerking her head in the direction of the ICU. I mouthed my thanks to her and disappeared down the hallway, immediately overwhelmed with the silence that surrounded me. I unfolded the paper and saw 3 numbers: 235, Archie’s room number. I wasn’t far away from where he was but the problem was that I had no idea how to get there without being questioned by an on call doctor. I couldn’t go back either, Veronica would be admanant on coming along and that would get the both of us in trouble and I didn’t want to do that to her, especially right now so I swallowed my bitterness and wandered aimlessly around the tiled hallways, my breath echoing against the blank walls. I made a fist around the sheet of paper as I stopped in front of a door, marked 235. I took a deep breath and quietly pushed the door open, not expecting the sight in front of me. Archie didn’t look like Archie in that hospital bed, he had multiple tubes inserted into his body and a clunky oxygen machine covered his face to help him breathe since it was impossible for him to do so on his own at the moment. His skin was pallid and from where I stood, I could see the veins that ran across his sunken in face. I closed the door quietly behind me and crept to his bedside, curling up in the chair next to his bed. I looked at his blank face and I wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes and realize that I never left, that I stayed by his side during the whole terrifying situation. My hand found his and I flinched at the coolness of his skin but still I held his hand in mine, being careful to avoid the tubes sticking out of the back.

“Arch? It’s me, Betty. I’m not sure if people in comas can really hear the people that talk to them but it doesn’t hurt to try, does it? Anyways, the world is on pause without you. It’s like.. Everything has stopped to wait for you to come back, I know that I certainly have. I miss you so much and I can’t help but think that this was somehow all of my fault. If I had never gotten into that fight with you, you’d be okay right now. But the sad truth is that you’re not and I’m not either and maybe we’ve always been not okay but that doesn’t mean that we have to remain that way/ I promise you that when you wake up, I’m going to try to save you. I’m going to collect all of the fragments inside of you and put them back together, just like I’ve been trying to do for what seems like an eternity. I’m not going to allow myself to be pushed away by you anymore okay? When you come back to us, I’m never leaving your side again. I love you Arch, always have, always will.” I didn’t even realize that I was crying until I saw the blotches hit the baby blue colored blanket. I laid my head next to our intertwined hands and closed my eyes. I didn’t even realize that I was falling asleep until it was too late to snap back to reality but I made no move to stop it, I just let it sweep me deeper and deeper until I couldn’t even see the fluorescent hospital lights anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so so sorry for this completely overdue update but life has been incredibly stressful and tense for me, and on top of all of that, i'm a senior in high school and the pressure is on with my grades being due soon. I would say I will be updating a lot over the summer but i don't necessarily know if that's accurate because my best friend and i have a lot of plans to do over the summer and i have to go job hunting and ugh it's wild but anyways, this isn't the best I could do and I hoped to have had something better for the people who genuinely enjoy this story but for now, you all get this and i hope it's okay. As always, leave kudos and comments, they are always so very appreciated. I hope each and every one of you is living your best life because it's what you deserve. Until next time.  
> All the love xx


	4. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> to let y'all know where i've been lol

hey y'all uh it's been FOREVER since I've updated any stories on here and to be honest with you, I will probably discontinue this story. I'm just really not feeling it anymore and I've tried to force myself to write more chapters but I purely just can not. I want to, I really do, because I had so many big ideas for this story but I just can't force myself to write something that I'm not happy with anymore. Granted, I will keep this story up because I know some people enjoy it, as well as my other riverdale one shots, but as far as writing anything else riverdale related, I don't think I will. I will however, write more AHS centered one shots and maybe even a few short stories here and there. I am truly sorry to the people that have been patiently waiting for some sign of life from this story and I am incredibly sorry that I let you all down but I have my reasons and I hope you all come to respect this decision I'm making. Also, I may start writing bellarke fanfics as well bc i'm never getting canon in the show so the best way to receive content is to write it myself so yeah that's basically all. I hope you're all doing well and I love and appreciate all of the support from this story and my countless other ones, i love y'all infinitely <3.

**Author's Note:**

> comment feedback + your thoughts please :) thank you so much!


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